Death of Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman
Introduction
Arthur Miller is the author of Death of a Salesman novel. It shows how Willy, the main character stops at nothing to accomplish, which he considers is the American dream despite the cost. However, since Willy was a stubborn person, he was not capable of realizing his American dream (Miller, pp. 140). The Great Gatsby is a story; the search of the American dream by F. S. Fitzgerald. However, both novels differ from each protagonist’s troubles. In the end, however, they consider some rapid, devastating, and irrational decisions owing to the unsatisfactory with the pursuit of their lives. The paper compares and contrasts both novels, in particular, the quest for the American dream of the character, respectively. There are varieties of things somebody can sacrifice in search of the American dream. That’s what the two novels reflect; the Great Gatsby and the Death of a Salesman. The two narratives demonstrate the extent of how the character goes to fulfill the American dream. As per them, it is a fundamental life that is defined by a wealthy, influential, and successful figure.
Jay Gatsby’s dream of re-creating the past took a lot of time. It is because his former life was the happiest time of his life, and he knows the same thing because he naively spoke about it. The woman he loved, Daisy Buchanan, sadly could not recover her love, given the fact that he’s now a “rich man” and can afford all things money can acquire (Fitzgerald, pp. 732). Mostly because of his wealth, he feels he can succeed to tries to fix the situations that were in the old days. Nick, though, said to him that it was too late to reconstruct the past and which is the sad reality.
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A salesman named Willy Loman, who feels compelled to fulfill American dreams, is explained by a Death of a Salesman. According to (Miller, pp. 100), he does not come to terms since he learns that his son is an ordinary performer. His strange obsession with the fantasy of the Americans triggered his demise. Willy seems to be living in a fantasy world by thinking everything about him, and everyone loves his sales job. He understood later otherwise; however, he doesn’t like it, so he’s not a good salesman nor liked. To Jay Gatsby’s acquiring material, possession meant for personal fulfillment; on the other hand, Miller manages to portray Willy Loman’s American dream as a way of obtaining the material dream. Miller succeeds in portraying Willy as a naive person, who is unable to distinguish the question of love and that of money.
Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby reveals to us that the American dream is about possessions that are the material thing. Jay feels he’s solved all his worries in the money he has now. In the past, Jay seems to have everything he wanted. Jay has a huge house, a sweet and luxurious car, and plenty of most exquisite clothes. One ‘item’ he now lacks is Daisy Buchanan’s love (Fitzgerald, pp. 1340). He seeks unsuccessfully to earn Daisy’s affection, given all the money he has now. Arthur Miller believes that prosperity is determined by how wealthy a man is. Jay Gatsby’s principal challenge to his realization is the reality in seeking to fulfill his American dream. Gatsby is convinced that it is through hard work and a lot of money for a person to accomplish the American dream. He claims the universe works in a way with enough money one can recreate his past and also win the love of his life. Interestingly, Gatsby planned his early childhood on the way to accomplish his dream. It has been illustrated that he had a diary where he wrote his plans on how to achieve his ultimate goal, the American dream. Willy is displayed not living in reality, but as a more exceptional individual than who he is.
Willy portrays himself as a remarkable person, and his aspirations raise questions of what he believes about himself. For instance, as the play starts, he tells about the tour to New York to his wife and says that while he was dreaming, he almost killed someone. He got back to dream just five minutes later and had ignored that he was driving and was about had hit someone. His fantasies reveal a man who has accomplished his aim (Miller, pp. 130). It is true considering his neighbor makes a job offer. Yet Willy is too proud to accept this request. Although he doesn’t take the job, he requests Charlie to give him money. Charlie gives him the money freely because he understands that Willy won’t refund.
The ending of both novels reveals how both protagonists fail to achieve the American dream. While Jay Gatsby had much possession like the luxurious and expensive car, a big house, and elegant clothing, Daisy is what he wanted most. He almost had a love of Daisy, but we know that he never had her heart. Money cannot buy everything it is shown (Fitzgerald, pp. 123). Daisy directly says he demands too much. So it is true that the genuine love of Daisy remains with his unemotional husband, Tom. Finally, it is revealed that Jay Gatsby never fulfilled his American dream, given the fact that he’s successful enough. Willy Loman’s dreams were never fulfilled either. He got fired from his employment and committed suicide later.
Conclusion
It comes one point in our life; everyone has aspirations, which are just human nature. The protagonist’s search of the American dream was tragically wholly wiped in the novels Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby. The main characters, Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, dominate the quest of the American dream that brings about their downfall. All are seeking to restore the illusionary sweet past. However, their failure to control desires ultimately leads to their demise.
